The subject matter disclosed herein relates to reciprocating engines and, more specifically, to monitoring and control of parameters of the engine
Combustion engines typically combust a carbonaceous fuel, such as natural gas, gasoline, diesel, and the like, and use the corresponding expansion of high temperature and pressure gases to apply a force to certain components of the engine, e.g., piston disposed in a cylinder, to move the components over a distance. Each cylinder may include one or more valves that open and close correlative with combustion of the carbonaceous fuel. For example, an intake valve may direct an oxidizer such as air into a combustion chamber of the cylinder, while a fuel injector may inject fuel into the combustion chamber of the cylinder. The fuel and air then mix and combust in the combustion chamber to generate combustion fluids, e.g., hot gases, which may then be directed to exit the combustion chamber of the cylinder via an exhaust valve. Accordingly, the carbonaceous fuel is transformed into mechanical motion, useful in driving a load. For example, the load may be a generator that produces electric power.
In order to control efficiency and/or performance of the engine, the fuel-air mixture is ignited when the piston is at a particular location in the cylinder. Unfortunately, ignition or timing of the ignition of the fuel-air mixture may become inaccurate over time. Inaccurate ignition may result in a change (e.g., a rise or fall) in peak firing pressure, thereby reducing an efficiency and/or performance of the engine. Likewise, an increase in compression ratio and/or peak firing pressure may cause detonation (e.g., pre-ignition, knocking, or pinging) of the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber, which also reduces an efficiency and/or performance of the engine. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to improve detection of ignition processes in reciprocating engines.